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Added on the 15/07/2020 21:14:14 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal describes the start of Ukraine's EU accession talks as "a historic day", speaking as membership negotiations are launched. "The European Union signifies more than a physical space" Shmygal says, "it represents value and hope". The opening of talks sets the war-torn country on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block. SOUNDBITE
A rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 lunar probe blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province. The Chang'e-6 seeks to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030. IMAGES
Two Russian cosmonauts, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, and American astronaut Loral O'Hara rocket toward the International Space Station as tensions between Moscow and Washington rise over Ukraine. The crew is expected to dock at the ISS three hours later. The launch comes after Russia's first lunar mission in nearly 50 years failed last month. IMAGES
The United States says it welcomes South Africa's promise to probe allegations of arms shipments to Russia after Washington angered Pretoria by going public with a charge of covert weapons. "It certainly would be a welcome step," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel tells reporters of the promise of a probe made by a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa. SOUNDBITE
A live feed from Russian space agency Roscosmos shows an Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasting off from Kazakhstan amid controversy that Moscow might use it to improve its surveillance of military targets in Ukraine. The Russian mission control confirmed its subsequent entry into orbit. IMAGES